Sports Feed Founder Tries to Change the Game With ‘The Fastest Way to Follow Your Sports World’

Ex-Oracle engineer Mike Wadhera launches fifth version of a mobile-first news and scores app

Competition is key in any sport, and the same rings true in the world of sports mobile apps. Even with a crowded and cutthroat marketplace, Mike Wadhera is confident that his Sports Feed will come out a winner.

“We want to do for mobile what ESPN did for TV by bringing truly great design and engineering to a category that is close to many people’s hearts,” said Wadhera, founder and CEO. “People thought the idea of a 24-hour sports channel was crazy when ESPN launched, but 66 percent of Americans identify as sports fans and mobile is very much in ‘first innings.’ This is a competitive space with large incumbents but there is real opportunity for a startup to re-imagine the fan experience.”

Aspiring to do for mobile what ESPN did for TV is a goal shared by many, including ESPN, which has a slew of its own sports scores and news programs. But Wadhera, a former engineer for Oracle, thinks his app offers fans what they truly want.

“We’re starting by focusing on a daily sports app you can use to stay informed on iOS and Android but we’re excited about the future of mobile extending into wearables and plan to be developing for Apple Watch,” he said.

Sports Feed 5.0 launches Thursday with a redesign that includes motion in the UI that will make posts “spring” out at users and make photos “jump out” when tapped, according to the company.

“We built Sports Feed to save fans time,” Wadhera said. “It surfaces only the most important stories for just the sports and teams you care about into a single news feed.”

Users can select the sports, leagues and teams that interest them, cutting out news and information on games they don’t care about. The biggest highlight of Sports Feed, however, might be its real-time updating.

“Our optimized sub-30-second delivery network means scores magically update without having to pull-to-refresh,” Wadhera said. “Once you follow a live game with Sports Feed, you’ll never want to use your old clunky scores app again.”

Wadhera was previously the first engineer at Involver, a social marketing apps provider, which was acquired by Oracle.

“Friends and family think I’m crazy for leaving Oracle to start a company that competes with huge incumbents but I’m passionate about bringing fans a truly great mobile experience,” he said.

Sports Feed 5.0 is now available to download for iOS and Android.

Comments